Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White is taking responsibility for overseeing an incident that has spawned one of the most sensational ads of the political season: “Limoing Louis.”
The spot, paid for by Mike Walker’s campaign, takes Mayor Kip Holden to task for a police escort that Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan received when he spoke earlier this month at Southern University.
“The Mayor-President had no prior knowledge of Minister Farrakhan’s scheduled visit … nor did I consult with the Mayor when security arrangements were coordinated,” White writes in an email, adding that no overtime dollars were used.
Walker’s ad shows Farrakhan speaking at Southern and thanking the mayor, the police chief and the city police for meeting his flight in New Orleans and “shepherding” him to Baton Rouge.
It concludes with the tag line: “Mayor, our police and taxes are for fighting crime, not limoing Louis.”
In response, Holden’s campaign says the ad is misleading: that it takes a legitimate police action and tries to make it a political activity. The campaign notes that Farrakhan did not ride in a limousine or a police vehicle.
“The security measures taken, coordinated by State Police and the Baton Rouge Police, were no different from what has been provided for any other high-profile public figure who has visited Baton Rouge,” the statement reads. “Furthermore, Minister Farrakhan did not go to City Hall, nor was there a limousine at City Hall (as the ad depicts). The limousine in the TV spot was seen being filmed on October 16th, almost two weeks after Minister Farrakhan’s visit to Baton Rouge, by Roy Fletcher, political consultant for the Mike Walker campaign, who placed this spot.”
Counters Fletcher, who produced the spot: “If (Mayor Holden) has a problem with the ad, he has to take it up with the minister … because he’s saying it, not me. That’s why it’s such a good spot.”
You can check out the ad here. And see an email in which White explains the Baton Rouge Police Department’s role in the matter here.
